(NewsNation) — Maria del Carmen Lopez, an American mother and grandmother, was kidnapped in Mexico in February 2023, and her family has never stopped searching for her.
Now, there is a potential break in the case. Lopez’s family tells NewsNation that authorities have arrested a pair of suspects tied to a kidnapping ring.
Maria is a mother, grandmother and aunt who is loved dearly by her family. To her daughters, she’s a hero and always will be — but they haven’t heard her voice in more than two years.
On Feb. 9, 2023, the 63-year-old was violently dragged and kidnapped from her home in Pueblo Nuevo in Colima, Mexico, where she also holds citizenship.
Her kidnappers called the Lopez family, with Maria pleading for help as the kidnappers demanded a ransom payment for her release. Family members say they’ve heard nothing since.
“We don’t know what they did to her, but these two men that I’m looking at right now are possibly the last two men who’ve seen her,” daughter Zonia Lopez said.
Two men arrested in a separate kidnapping are now reportedly linked to Maria’s disappearance through DNA evidence. Authorities say Juan Antonio Gaytan Diaz and Antioco Cortez Valencia have been connected to a kidnapping ring and two other abductions involving elderly victims.
The Lopez family tells NewsNation the men saw an opportunity to target their mother, unaware that she was an American citizen.
Now, one big question remains: Where is Maria del Carmen Lopez? Zonia Lopez has a message for the suspects.
“You guys took her, you took her from us,” she said. “Where is she? Why not tell us what they did with her? Is she still alive? And if she’s gone, where? We deserve to have her back.”
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the physical location of Maria.